His gaze snapped to mine. “That’s not what I meant.”
“No?” I asked, voice quieter now. “He left everything to infiltrate the Order. Everything. And maybe that changed him, but meeting me, leaving me… that hurt him.”
Zander exhaled hard, as if the weight of it all was catching up to him. “I’m not saying he didn’t pay a price. I just don’t know if we can trust him anymore. Not when Katama turns on him. A dragon knows.”
“That’s the part I don’t understand,” I said. “If he’s guilty, it isn’t because he stopped caring about Warriath. There’s something else we’re missing.”
Zander was quiet, then reached for my hand and held it tightly.
“I hope you’re right. For his sake.”
And for ours.
A castle guard approached us as we made our way to the lower levels.
He bowed stiffly as we approached the stairwell leading to the dungeons. “He’s in the second cell, Highness,” he said to Zander. “Been quiet, hasn’t asked for anything.”
Zander gave a curt nod. “Thank you. We’ll handle it from here.”
As the guard turned away, I glanced at Zander. “Let me talk to him alone.”
His jaw tightened, but after a moment, he nodded. “I’ll be right outside.”
I descended the cold steps, the stone slick from the moisture that clung to the air. The torches burned low, casting long, twitching shadows along the corridor. Remy was sitting on the bench inside his cell, his back against the wall, eyes fixed on the floor until he heard my footsteps.
Then he looked up and smiled.
“What the hell did you do?” My voice cracked through the silence like a whip.
He cocked his head. “What are you talking about?”
“Why did you betray us?”
His eyes widened, hurt flashing for just a second. “I didn’t. I did everything you asked me to.”
I blinked. “I didn’t ask you to do anything, Remy.”
“You asked me to trust you. To arrange a meeting between you and the Varnari leader. I passed on the message?—”
He stopped, pushing to his feet and pacing toward the bars. “Did you set me up?”
My heart pounded. “I would never do that. And I never asked you to do anything, Remy.”
His face twisted. “You sent me a message to meet by the gate. We did. You told me to find the Varnari in the village, and to deliver your request personally. So I did.”
I stepped back. “That’s the problem with lying all the time, Remy. I don’t believe you.”
His expression shattered. Not into guilt. But into something worse.
Pain. Confusion.
Betrayal.
I pressed a hand to my forehead, the ache behind my eyes sharp and disorienting. “Tell Katama this is true,” I said, staring at Remy. “He’ll know if you’re lying.”
Remy looked startled, but then nodded slowly. “Alright.”
I reached out for Kaelith across our bond,Remy is?—
